The Voice in the Vent
by VanillaDella
Summary: Downsizing from his parents' luxurious home to an asylum cell was not an easy adjustment. In his misery, he found comfort in the voice of another patient, Kenny McCormick.


Nothing could be heard besides the sound of shoes hitting the cold hard floor as Kyle was being walked through a long dark hallway, and the rattling that occasionally came from the walkie-talkie attached to the guards belt. The nametag that was attached to his uniform said Craig, but it meant absolutely nothing to Kyle. He tried to move his arms around, but the strait-jacket he was forced to wear secured them tightly across his chest. Craig noticed Kyle's pulling and tugged at the handcuffs. He wanted to say something. Instead he settled with staring daggers into the back of Craig's chullo covered head.

Craig's steps suddenly came to a stop which caused Kyle to crash into the tall guards back. Kyle felt the blood rushing to his cheeks, but was relieved to notice that Craig decided to ignore it. He detached a small ring from his belt with at least 10 different types of keys. He fiddled with it till he found the right one, and then pushed it into the keyhole and turned. There was an unlocking sound, and the guard pushed the door open.

The first thing that Kyle noticed was the horrible stench that made him gag. Then, the screams. They were almost inhuman, like something you would hear in a slaughterhouse. Craig took a handkerchief out of his back pocket, and then put it over his nose and mouth to block out the smell.

"Let's go." His nasally voice was a bit muffled because of the handkerchief, but Kyle understood and unwillingly stepped into the hallway.

The hallway was long and dark with cells on each side. Kyle made the mistake of glancing over and seeing one of the captives. She was a woman with long black hair, sitting in the middle of the small room. Her eyes seemed lifeless, but she was very much alive.

Across from her a man with curly blonde hair was clutching the window bars. His eyes were as big as dinner plates, and he seemed to be repeating bible verses.

Patient after patient looked even more horrifying than the last. Sicker. Dirtier. Broken. One cell held a man- no, a boy, with blonde hair and tears streaming down his cheeks. One cell would have seemed completely empty if it weren't for the horrifying screams that erupted from the inside.

Craig stopped in front of the very last cell, stripped Kyle from his strait-jacket, and then pushed him inside. He quickly locked the door and walked away.

The small redhead looked around the room. It was very small. Tiny, almost. There was an old bed in one corner and a toilet in the other. The walls were full of scribbles. When closely examined, he could see it was all writing. Cries for help, to be more accurate.

As soon as Craig was out of sight, Kyle started feeling nauseous. He leaned against the wall, and slid down before he brought his knees to his chest.

He could still smell the awful stench of death, and he could still hear the patients screaming bloody murder. It all felt so unreal. Just two days ago he was out shopping with his brother Ike, and now he was locked up in the Park County Asylum. Kyle brought his hands to his ears in a pathetic attempt to try and block out the horrible agony of the mentally ill.

He closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to stare at the filthy floor or the ugly patient uniform.

"This is just a dream, it's just a dream. Soon you will wake up and everything will be fine." He thought to himself. He opened his eyes, hoping that he would be in his own bed, in his own room, as far away from there as possible.

He wasn't at home.

Kyle tried again, nothing. He repeated it over and over again, but still he was locked behind a steel door, all alone.

"Oh my god.. Will I ever get out of here?" He sobbed. His brown eyes started to well up with tears as he buried his head into his knees.

"Probably not."

Kyle froze when he heard a voice respond. It was high-pitched, even higher than Kyle's, but it was clearly a man's voice. He looked around the room, but saw no one. The guard hadn't come back either.

"I'm right here."

There it was again. Kyle turned around when he realized that the voice was coming from behind him. From inside the wall. Kyle's fear had subsided, and now was replaced with curiosity. And, maybe, the tiniest bit of fear.

"Who are you? Are you inside the wall?" His voice had turned higher, like it always did when he was trying to cover up the fact that he was freaking out. "No, behind the wall. If you look down you can see the air vent that connects our cells."

Kyle looked down. Turned out the voice was telling the truth. There sure enough was an air vent that appeared to lead to the room next to him. They both stayed silent for a while, till Kyle managed up the courage to ask the voice a question.

"Who are you?"

"Patient number 54, but call me Kenny."


End file.
